A reliable supply of potable water is a basic requirement for human life. This need can be acute in urban areas and in regions of the world where there is no regular or constant water supply, such as arid and coastal regions. In some areas pipelines and aquifers are lacking or insufficient and water must be brought by vehicles, particularly trucks. Water may need to be imported by vehicle for other reasons as well, for example where water has been contaminated by hydraulic fracturing. In such areas, customers are heavily dependent on water truck services to secure their needs. Distributing water supplies via trucks is a very slow, unsafe, environmentally-unfriendly, and costly process. Customers may not get requested water supplies in a timely manner.
Even where underground pipelines are available, they may be inefficient. The rate of water leakage from underground pipes in Asia-Pacific countries, as well as most European countries, can be as high as a quarter of water supplied through such pipes.
These deficiencies are very costly for both the water utility, which directly loses money, and the consumer who is indirectly penalized through increases in water rates. The customer also suffers inconvenience at best and unhealthful conditions at worse.